An Australian influencer is copping heat for selling T-shirts her five-year-old has tie-dyed to fans.
Ruby Tuesday Matthews has amassed a huge following documenting her life as a mom of three living in Byron Bay, New South Wales.
But after recently revealing she was selling T-shirts that have been hand decorated by her middle child, Mars, the former model has come under fire.
“Mars has a few shirts and singlets that we are going to sell here,” she said in a recent Instagram Stories post.
“100 (sic) of the profits go into his piggy bank as he does not have a bank account yet.
“He just owes me money for the die (sic) and shirts LOL but I’ll let that slide.”
The unexpected business venture quickly caught the attention of the influencer watchdog account Dutch Minty.
“What do you think of @rubytuesdaymatthews selling tie dyed tshirts for $50+ made by her 5 year old?” the account posted.
The responses came in thick and fast, with many quick to condemn Tuesday’s money-making move.
“People are literally struggling to pay for groceries, $50 is a joke,” one person raged.
“What the, when you think it can’t get any worst IT DOES,” another lamented.
Others accused Matthews of taking advantage of her loyal fan base by selling the garments, believed to be from Kmart, at a marked-up price.
There was also the suggestion a five-year-old’s piggy bank money should be coming from their parents’ pockets – not strangers on the internet.
“Yeah bc we’re going to buy shirts to fund a kids piggy bank, surely gotta be taking the p**s. The physical cringe reaction I had to this,” one said.
“What happened to a good ol’ fashioned lemonade stand,” another added.
News.com.au has contacted Matthews for comment.
There were many who backed Matthews, stating it was an important lesson to teach kids.
“I’m all for teaching kids how to make money and save. I believe it needs to be taught from a young age. Makes them appreciate things a lot better. Money doesn’t grow on trees,” one argued.
“Cute concept, wild price,” someone else stated.
“If her fans want to pay for something her kid did let them! She’s laughing all the way to the bank,” another chipped in.
While one person declared: “If people are stupid enough to pay that much then good on her.”
The controversy comes just weeks after Matthews was slammed for posting a photo of Mars posing shirtless in low-slung pants for a fashion campaign.
The picture was labeled “exploitative” by angry social media users, later prompting Matthews to respond to her critics.
“If you are sexualizing that image of him, I think you actually need to have a look at the bigger picture of what your issue is and maybe you have become so overly sensitive,” she said.
“The lines are blurred between what is wrong and right. There is nothing wrong with that image.”
She went on to state that while she knows there are dangers in posting photos of kids online, she believes she has adequate safety structures in place to protect her little ones.
“I am very aware there are predators online that collect images of kids, but I am a lot more concerned about when my child has a phone than an image like that being put on the internet,” she continued.
“I feel like I am doing everything I can to protect my kids and I don’t feel putting an image like that on the internet is putting him in danger. If I did, I wouldn’t do so. That is my choice as his mum to make.”